Ice Age: Modern Life One-Shots
by Kenneth0
Summary: This is a series of one-shots for the Ice Age: Modern Life series. Featuring the prehistoric herd mammals as they face new things that never happened in the past, meet new friends, etc. One-shots written by me and ninjagogirl luvs iceage21.
1. Scratte Returns

**ICE AGE: MODERN LIFE**

**SCRATTE RETURNS**

**Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Ice Age: Modern Life one-shot series. Here is the first one-shot story, it's called Scratte Returns. Scratte gets defrosted in ice and ends up in the modern times. She bumps into Laura, and now Laura wants to keep her as a pet. But when Laura shows Scratte to the herd, Scrat recognizes her and wants nothing to do with her after what happened last time. Scratte feels bad for how she treated Scrat back then. Will she and Scrat ever reconcile?**

It was a beautiful snowy day in Icetropolis Park. The birds were up in their trees singing songs, the squirrels were chasing one another, kids were building snowmen and having snowball fights, and the ice skating rink was filled with hockey players. Summertime in Icetropolis was the best time for everyone.

It was especially the best time for food trucks. It was the perfect place for teenagers to go to and eat some of the best comfort food in the city. Sitting at one of the picnic tables were Louis and Laura, along with Scrat. They were hanging out on this frigid Friday afternoon enjoying hot slices of pizza and Coca-Cola. Since Louis is pretty much the only best friend she had, Laura was eager to get to know him more.

"So Louis, I have to write a summer report for my English class when I head back to school after the summer," Laura said, "I have to write a five page report about a historical time period or a famous person from history. I've been thinking about writing my report on the Ice Age. I was hoping if you wouldn't mind lending me some facts that you know since you came from that time period."

"Sounds cool," Louis said, "When do you wanna do it?"

"I was thinking we could do it next weekend if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all," Louis takes a bite of his pizza, "Wow, this pizza is awesome!" he looks in his soda, "Is this sugar free?"

"It should be. I told them I want one regular and one diet. Let me taste it just to make sure," Laura takes the cup and sips some of the soda. Turns out it wasn't sugar free, "Nope. It's regular."

"I think I'll just stick with water from now on. I'm the molehog that can't have any sugar. Everything for me has to be sugar free. One drop of sugar and you won't be able to stop me."

"Is it that bad?"

"It's so bad that I don't even remember going through a sugar rush."

The two molehogs were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't even notice Scrat sitting there nibbling on his pizza. He was actually starting to enjoy the foods of the future. Plus, ever since he joined the herd, he wasn't so attached to his acorn and didn't always need it with him for security. Having real friends kept him calm.

But when those friends forget you're even there, an acorn would really be nice to have. Scrat finally gets irritated and clears his throat very loudly. Louis and Laura paused in their conversation and looked at him.

"Sorry, I had a frog in my throat," he said.

"Sorry, Scrat," Louis said, "We didn't mean to ignore you. I guess Laura and I got too distracted of one another to notice."

"Don't worry about it. It happens to me a lot."

Laura gets a text message on her phone, "Well, guys, I'm gonna have to cut lunch short today. My brother Stephen needs me to help him take his drum set to the repair shop for cleaning," she grabbed her purse and hopped off the picnic table, "See you guys later."

"See you later, Laura," Louis said.

"Finally," Scrat said, "Now I can actually speak."

"Scrat, I'm really sorry. We didn't mean to be rude."

"I know, but before I met you and the herd, I was pretty much a loner. I didn't have any real friends. The only friend I ever had were myself and my acorns. I've always been lonely."

"Well, you're not alone anymore. You have plenty of new friends. And we're best friends."

"That's not the loneliness I was talking about. Look around you. I see the species of squirrels in the future living in trees, starting families and interacting with humans and animals. All I see are my future selves. We differ from looks and we don't act the same. None of them are anything like me. I just wish I could find that the same wonderful friend. We could be the same as you and Laura. Then I wouldn't feel so lonely."

"Don't worry, Scrat. I'm sure you'll find that special friend one day. It may not be a saber-tooth squirrel from the past, but who knows? Maybe a squirrel of the future might see you in a way that nobody else will."

Scrat sighs, "For my own sake, I hope you're right."

Scrat and Louis resumed having lunch while talking about the latest episode of the Ninjago series.

Meanwhile, around that same time in Icetropolis Valley, the summer sun was shining in the wintry city. It shined upon the trees where the icicles were dripping some, but not too much. The temperature in the summer never went past forty degrees. But it was warm enough to melt some of the ice, especially a big block of ice in the willow tree.

Wait a minute. A big block of ice in the willow tree? That doesn't sound right.

It was true, though. And the weirdest part was a bushy tail was sticking outside the block of ice. The sunshine was melting it at a slow rate. When the branches became too wet that they couldn't hold a heavy ice cube anymore, it slipped out of the tree and hit the ground, smashing into small frozen pieces.

This gave a small female saber-tooth squirrel the chance to open her eyes after a twenty thousand year nap.

Scratte was lying on the ground staring up at the sky. She slowly picks herself off the ground and takes in her surroundings. Nothing seems familiar to her. This wasn't where she was back in the past. She had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. The only thing she could remember was getting caught up in some cold wind and felt as still as a statue. Now she's confused, lost and scared. Being alone in a strange place can do that to anyone. She figured traveling around would help and decided to give herself a little tour of her new home.

Things just looked weird. She kept spotting holes in the ground and cautiously tried her best to not trip over them. Mailboxes were pretty much all over the place and she ended up smacking herself on at least half of them. And the trees actually had doors on them. It was starting to give her the creeps.

Over on the other side of the valley, Laura and her older brother Stephen were making their way back to their burrow home. Stephen's drum set wouldn't be ready until tomorrow so they didn't have anything to drag home. Which was a relief for Laura. She'd have to ask her father to pop her back for her. That drum set was painfully heavy.

"It'll probably take a week for my back to straighten itself out," Laura said.

"Sorry about that, sis," Stephen said, "I didn't mean for my drum set to fall on top of you. I'll have Nathan help me carry it home tomorrow."

"I'm just glad to have helped you," Laura wasn't paying attention to what was in front of her and bumped into someone. She fell on her back, "Well, that fixed it."

Stephen helped his sister up, "You okay?"

"I'm fine, but who did I bump into?" Laura wondered as she stood back up.

They heard squeaking noises and looked to see Scratte standing there giving them a piece of her mind for knocking her over. It was bad enough she wasn't used to her new surroundings and new mammals bumping into her made things worse.

"Oh, sorry about that," Laura said, "I didn't mean to bump into you."

"What kind of animal is this?" Stephen asked, "It looks weird," Scratte growled at Stephen's remark.

"She's a prehistoric saber-tooth squirrel from the Ice Age," Laura said.

"I wonder where she came from."

"I don't know. She wasn't on any of the displays the last time I went to the museum. Maybe she came from somewhere around here," Scratte nods to Laura's statement, "Oh, so you did come around here."

"I think she's probably muted. She doesn't seem like she can talk."

Laura looks down at Scratte, "She doesn't look like she's a bad little squirrel. I think she needs help getting accustomed to her new life here. And I want to help her."

"Don't say what I think you're gonna say," Stephen said.

"I'm gonna take her in as a pet," Laura said.

"Too late. You said it."

"We can't just leave her out here all out on her own. She doesn't know how this time period works. I think if she's with us, she'll be taken care of a lot better."

"Maybe so, but are you sure this is a good idea? We've already got a burrow that's filled to the brim with molehogs. How do you expect to fit a squirrel in there?"

"It's worth a try. Come on, let's take her home."

The molehog siblings took Scratte home. Laura kept hoping in her mind her parents would say yes. Once they got inside the burrow, Laura went to search for her parents while Stephen escaped to his room. Laura found her parents in the kitchen. Her mother was getting dinner prepared and her father was at the table doing some paperwork.

"Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad," she greeted them.

"Hello, sweetheart," Marge said, "How was your lunch date with Louis?"

"I thought you said it wasn't a date," Stew said.

"It wasn't a date," Laura said, "I was just hanging out with him. Anyway, I brought home something that I think you guys will love. Or better yet, someone," she moves away to show her parents Scratte, "Ta-da! Meet the female saber-tooth squirrel!"

"Oh, my," Marge said, "She's really pretty."

"Where'd you find her at?" Stew asked.

"She just bumped into me when Stephen and I were walking home," Laura told them, "Right when I saw her, I knew she'd have trouble understanding this new time period. And I was wondering if you guys would let me keep her as a pet."

"Oh, my," Marge said, "I'm not very sure about that, sweetheart. Pets can be a lot of work. Owning one is a very big responsibility. They need lots of care. You'll have to feed her everyday, take her out for walks, clean up after them and make sure they have all their vaccinations."

"Pets can be compared to babies," Stew said, "Pets have to drink plenty of water a day just like a baby has to drink plenty of milk. Pets also get dirty and need a bath just like a baby needs a dirty diaper changed. Owning a pet can teach you about taking care of a baby."

"Actually, that's a good point. And I have every right to believe that one day you'll be a mother to lots of babies. Especially if you keep getting to know Louis and spending lots of time with him."

"Mom!" Laura said.

"Just saying," Marge told her, "So you can keep her as a pet, but you have to promise that you'll take good care of her."

"I promise."

"I officially pronounce you best friends," Stew said.

"Thank you!" Laura said, "Come on, my new pet. Let's go to my room," she takes Scratte with her to her room.

Laura spent the rest of the evening helping Scratte get comfortable in her new home. And she lets Scratte sleep in her bed that night until she got her own.

The next day Laura took Scratte to the park with her. She knew the herd would be there since the guys and girls like to play hockey against one another. Plus she needed to go shopping for some pet supplies and decided to detour over to the park. She knew the herd should know about another prehistoric mammal living in the future and decided now was the best time.

Easy enough, Laura found the herd at the ice rink. Louis was the first to see her and blew the whistle around his neck.

"Time out, everyone," he said, "Guess who's here?"

"Hey, guys," Laura said, waving at the herd.

"Hey, Laura," Manny said, "Haven't seen you in a while."

"You wanna play hockey with us?" Peaches asked, "We could use another girl on the team."

"I'd love to, but I can't stay long," Laura said, "I need to go shopping, but I wanted to stop by and show you someone I met yesterday. I'd like you all to meet my new pet," she shows Scratte to everyone.

"No way!" Louis said.

"Awesome!" Julian said.

"Wait a second," Shira said, "You found another prehistoric squirrel."

"Yeah," Laura said, "Isn't she amazing?"

"That's amazing!" Ellie said.

"Yeah!" Louis said, "I bet Scrat's happy to see another of his kind here in the future!"

"I most certainly am not!" Scrat said, hiding behind Louis.

"He's probably just talking crazy."

"No, I'm not."

"Where did you find her at, Laura?" Ellie asked.

"Well, I found her wandering around Icetropolis Valley yesterday and decided to take her home and keep her as a pet," Laura said, "I knew she wasn't used to life here so I thought I could help her out."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful!" Brooke said.

"Well, I don't want her around!" Scrat said, "Get rid of her!"

"Scrat, what has gotten into you?" Louis asked.

"That lady squirrel is a menace! I remember her from back in the Ice Age. She used to try to steal my acorn from me. She could've easily went and got her own, but no. She had to keep trying to steal mine."

"Scrat, that was all in the past. Don't you think it's time to just move on and forget it all happened?"

"That's never gonna happen! Get rid of that acorn stealer!"

"Scrat, she wouldn't do anything like that," Laura said, "She's going through the same problems you went through when you first came here. I think taking something from someone else is the least of her worries."

"Just get her away from me!" Scrat said.

Laura sighs, "I wish I could stick around longer, but I need to head over to the pet shop and get some things for my new squirrel friend."

"Why don't we come along with you?" Ellie asked.

"That'd be great. Thanks."

While the herd and Laura headed over to the pet store, Scratte couldn't get her mind off of the things Scrat said about her. She felt bad about the past, but she didn't realize the effect it had on the male squirrel she was once in love with. Trying not to think about it was harder than anything. Plus, she couldn't get her mind off the subject of how Scrat ended up learning to talk. This new world was strange.

After they were finished at the pet store, Laura and Scratte went with the herd to the mansion. The female molehog went and got a toilet pan, food and water bowls, nut mix treats and a comfy bed so Scratte wouldn't have to sleep in her bed. After going through the bag of pet supplies, Laura joined the others in the living room.

"Well, it took twenty-five percent of my summer savings, but I got everything that my new squirrel friend will need," Laura said as she pats Scratte on the head.

"Say, Laura, do you know any good names for your new pet?" Sid asked her.

"I haven't thought about that. I was so excited to finally own a pet, I was too caught up to think of a good name. Let's see, what can I name you? Maybe we can try Ally?" Scratte shook her head, "Okay, well, how about Kate?" again, Scratte shook her head again, "Does Mary sound good?" another shake of the head, "Debra?" another shake, "Nina?" and another, "Lily? Taylor? Annie?" the answer to those names was a no, "Ugh! Guessing is getting me nowhere!" Laura looked at Scrat, "Hey, Scrat, you knew her from back in the past? Do you happen to know if she had a name?" but Scrat was too busy nibbling on his acorn and purposely toning her out. Laura rolled her eyes, "No luck asking him for help."

The front door to the mansion opened. Lucas comes inside and scrapes his muddy boots on the doormat.

"Hey, premams!" Lucas said, "Sorry about all the mud. I stepped in a puddle on my way over here."

"Lucas!" Ellie shouted, "I just vacuumed that mat! Looks like I'm gonna have to wash it now!"

"Like I said, I'm sorry. So what's going on?"

"Oh, nothing much," Diego said, "We're just sitting here listening to Laura play a guessing game to pick out a name for her new pet."

"Cool!" Lucas said, "Let me meet this new pet," he rushed over to Laura and looked down to see Scratte sitting in front of her, "Awesome! Another saber-tooth squirrel! And this one's a female! Where'd you find her?"

"In Icetropolis Valley," Laura said.

"Cool! Can she talk?"

"No. I've been trying to pick out the perfect name for her, but she doesn't like any of them."

"She probably already has one."

"Well, I figured that out, but how am I supposed to know what it is if she can't tell me?"

"Well, I have the perfect solution for that. Did you know that when we met Scrat, he couldn't talk, either?"

"He couldn't?"

"Nope. But when we visited Dr. Morris' lab, he used this ray gun thing on Scrat and gave him the ability to talk. That's all it took."

"Do you think he might be able to do that for my pet?"

"I don't see why he wouldn't. Come on!" Lucas starts running out the door.

"Alright!" Laura said, "Louis, you wanna go with us?"

"Sure, why not?" Louis asked, "Come on, Scrat."

Scrat groans, "Do I have to?"

"Yes, now come on," Louis grabs Scrat and drags him out the door.

The four small mammals followed Lucas to Dr. Morris' laboratory home. When they arrived at the front door, they were greeted by the crazy scientist's British robot. The robot servant led them inside the house into the main room. They spotted Dr. Morris at his chemistry desk. They also saw somebody next to him. It was a female molehog who looked a few years older than Laura. Laura noticed who she was right away.

"Lindsey?" she asked.

Lindsey stares at her younger sister, "Oh, hey Laura."

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, since I'm studying to become a scientist myself, I've been given a position to be Dr. Morris' lab assistant."

"Yes, indeed," Dr. Morris said, "She has become a great assistant so far."

"I hope she doesn't become as crazy as you," Louis said.

"I'm not crazy. Scientifically speaking, I am commonly known as a lunatic at times. With some weirdness on the side."

"Well, it's wonderful to meet you, Dr. Morris," Laura said, "I wasn't really expecting to come by, but I have a problem."

"Ooh, a problem!" Dr. Morris said, "Tell me more!"

"Well, I have a new pet. She's a saber-tooth squirrel," she shows Scratte to Dr. Morris.

"How exciting! Another species of the squirrel ancestry is among us! Maybe the population will increase if we pair her up with her male partner!"

"I don't think we're ready for that. Anyway, I've been trying to think of a good name for her, but none of them work for her. That's when I realized that she probably already has a name. But the only way I can figure out what her name is if she could talk. Lucas told me that you have an invention that can help with that problem."

"I certainly do! You've come to the right scientist. Behold!" Dr. Morris uncovers his invention, "The Talkatron 4000! This will help give any animal the ability to talk! All I have to do is press this button and after one blast, your pet will speak. Now set her on the target and have her be very still," he starts getting the ray ready.

Laura sets Scratte down on the target, "This won't hurt her, will it?"

"No, not at all," Dr. Morris assured, "At least I'm sure it won't hurt."

Scratte whimpered a little. Dr. Morris plugged up the machine, pressed the button and zap! went the ray. Scratte was under the machines' affects for a few seconds before Dr. Morris flipped it off. The female squirrel was dizzy.

"Did it work?" Laura asked.

"Let's find out," the scientist said, "Speak!"

Scratte cleared her throat, "Finally, I can talk! And there's so much I wanna say!"

"It worked!" Laura said.

"Of course it worked," Dr. Morris said, "All my inventions do."

"I can speak! I can speak!" Scratte said, jumping for joy.

"Best day ever!" Laura said, "So now that you can talk, can you please tell me what your name is?"

"It's Scratte."

"Oh, my gosh! That's the best name ever!"

"Wow, Laura, this is great," Louis said, "Now that Scratte can talk, maybe she and Scrat can be friends."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," Scratte said, "He'll never forgive me for trying to steal his acorn. And I sort of never forgave him for choosing the acorn over me. I guess a friendship will never happen."

"You really felt that way?" Scrat asked, walking over to Scratte, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't tell you because I couldn't talk."

"Oh, right. Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to choose the acorn over you. I was just an idiot back then. And I'm also sorry for ignoring you the whole time."

"I'm sorry for treating you the way I did. I figured that if you didn't have that acorn with you, maybe you would like me."

"I was pretty nutty back then. So what do you say? Should we put the past behind us?"

"Definitely."

The two saber-tooth squirrels hugged, renewing an old friendship. The moment was so touching that Laura actually placed her head on Louis' shoulder. One look from the male molehog and she shot her head up. She was hoping he wasn't suspicious of her behavior.

But none of that mattered. Scrat and Scratte were friends, Laura has Scratte as her best friend and everything else ends on a good note.

**The End.**

**Voice cast:**

**Josh Gad as Louis**

**Miranda Cosgrove as Laura**

**Chris Wedge as Scrat**

**Karen Disher as Scratte**

**Samuel Vincent as Stephen**

**Erin Fitzgerald as Lindsey**

**Julie Kavner as Marge**

**Dan Castellaneta as Stew**

**Ray Romano as Manny**

**Queen Latifah as Ellie**

**Denis Leary as Diego**

**Jennifer Lopez as Shira**

**John Leguizamo as Sid**

**Jessie J as Brooke**

**Keke Palmer as Peaches**

**Adam DeVine as Julian**

**Greg Cipes as Lucas**

**Lin-Manuel Miranda as Dr. Morris**

**I hope you enjoyed this story. Don't hesitate to reply below. Give credit to ninjagogirl luvs iceage21, since she helped me with this story.**


	2. Fair Friends

**ICE AGE: MODERN LIFE**

** FAIR FRIENDS**

**Okay, here is the next Modern Life one-shot story. In here, the herd goes to the Icetropolis Fair. Lucas gives them a tour, and the herd meet up with their friends while there. Meanwhile, the dino birds fly around and meet some new friends.**

The summer day was filled with excitement in Icetropolis. That's because the city's fairgrounds was filled up with rides, game booths, shows and food trucks for the yearly annual Icetropolis Fair. A grand historical fair dating back ninety-years ago. It was the funnest event of the year. Standing over by the entrance are Lucas, Stephen, Nizhoni and Kimi. The four humans were waiting for the herd members to arrive. Lucas wanted to show them everything about the fair to which they were all super excited about. While they were waiting, Nizhoni and her grandmother were having a conversation, Lucas was munching down on a box of popcorn and Stephen was, as usual, reading fanfiction on his phone.

And Stephen was getting tired of waiting around, "Ugh! When are they gonna get here? I'm tired of waiting."

"They'll be here," Lucas told him, "Just be patient. It's not like you're gonna pay attention to today, anyway."

"Why do you always state the obvious?"

At that moment, the herd finally arrived.

"Hey, guys," Manny said, "We're here!"

"What's up, premams?" Lucas greeted, "Glad you all could make it."

"Can you please stop calling them that?" Stephen asked.

"We're really excited about the fair today," Ellie said, "What kind of fun stuff is there to do?"

"That's the best part," Lucas said, "Everything at the fair is fun!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Eddie asked, "Let's do it!"

"And by that, he means me and him," Crash stated, "We gotta go meet up with Jenny and Betty."

"Have fun with your girlfriends, boys!" Ellie teased.

"They're not our girlfriends!" Crash and Eddie said, as they walk into the entrance to recieve some tickets.

Suddenly, loud trumpeting noises were heard behind them. Walking up were the three teenage elephants Melody, Jessica and Rob, Peaches and Julian's friends.

"Sorry about that," Rob said, laughing, "I wanted to try out some trumpeting skills to get people's attention."

"That was awesome!" Julian said as he high trunks Rob, "You have got to teach me to do that."

"Julian, we already know how to trumpet," Peaches told.

"Yeah, but I wanna know how to do it like Rob did."

"Hey, Peach," Melody said, "You and Julian wanna go play laser tag with us?"

"Sure!" Peaches said.

"Most def!" Julian said. He pauses, "Wait. What's laser tag?"

"What?! You two have never heard of laser tag before?" Jessica asked, "It's like one of the greatest games of all time!"

"Jes, don't forget that they're from a different time period," Melody reminded.

"Oh, right."

"You guys want us to teach you how to play?" Rob asked.

"Sounds like fun," Peaches said.

"Let's do it!" Julian said.

The young mammoth couple follow the teenage elephants into the fair where they walked over to the ticket booths.

"Okay, who else has plans?" Lucas asked.

"Scrat and I do," Louis said, "We're waiting up for Laura and Scratte."

"We promised to spend time with them here," Scrat said.

"And the kids and I are gonna fly around to look for something fun to do," Gavin said.

"Probably play a few games and ride some cool rides," Roger said.

"Who cares about all that?" Gertie asked, "I'm just here for the snacks."

Gavin sighs, "Come on, kids," the dino birds spread out their wings and fly above the fairgrounds.

"Alright!" Lucas said, "Let's go everyone!"

The four humans started leading the remaining herd members through the fair, showing them all the fun there was to have.

Over with the dino birds, Gertie, Gavin and Roger were flying up above, looking down below at all the fun stuff there was to do. One that really caught their eyes was a high diving show that looked interesting. The three of them flew down and took some seats on the bleachers.

They were just in time. The show was actually starting. They watched as a farm goat jumped through hoops into a swimming pool. They even watched as the goat climbed onto the highest diving board and jumped through ten hoops perfectly, causing a splash so great that the audience got soaking wet.

Gavin and Roger were enjoying themselves, but Gertie became bored and started getting hungry.

"This is lame!" she said, "All he's doing is jumping through giant rings. I'd rather be eating a pizza right now than watch this."

Gertie felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked right next to her to see a muscular hawk holding out some cotton candy for her.

"You can have this," the muscular hawk told her, "It's not pizza, but I hope it'll do. You're not the only one who thinks this to be the lamest show in history."

"True that," Gertie said, accepting the cotton candy without hesitation, "Thanks for the snack."

"You know, for a girl, you're pretty strong and muscular."

Gertie was chewing some cotton candy, "That right there is a compliment," she gives the muscular hawk a high five, "You have no idea how many people tell me that."

The muscular hawk extends his feathery winged hand, "The name's Freddy, by the way."

Gertie shakes wings with Freddy, "Gertie. Good to meet you."

Freddy points to two other male hawks sitting next to him, "Those two are my dad and little brother, Roderick."

"Hey, Gertie, who's your new friend?" Gavin asked.

"That's probably her new boyfriend," Roger said as he snickers.

"Shut up, Roger!" Gertie shouted, "He's not my boyfriend," she groans and looks at Freddy, "My brother can be such a dweeb."

"I'm with you there," Freddy said, "Roderick's the same way. I'd say a lot worse than any little brother out there."

"Why are you always putting me down?" Roderick asked, "What is it that the older brothers have that us little brothers don't know about?"

"They have smaller brains than us," Roger joked.

Gertie slaps her little brother in the back of the head, "Idiot."

The father hawk sighs and flies over to sit next to Gavin, "Ah, kids these days. Always making fun of their siblings."

"Glad I'm not the only one around here that's a single father with two kids to raise," Gavin said.

"Oh, I'm not a single father. I'm married to a very beautiful and wonderful hawk gal. She had to work today and I promised I'd bring the boys here," he extends out his feathery hand, "Name's Dennis, by the way."

"Gavin", the dino bird accepts the winged hand shake.

"So what kind of birds are you? I've never seen a species like you before."

"That does sound strange, doesn't it? My kids and I are dino birds. Dakotaraptors, to be exact. We came around during the time of the Ice Age."

"That's crazy talk," Freddy said, "Dinosaurs weren't around during the Ice Age."

"Actually, my father is correct," Roger told, "It is proven true that the dinosaurs were exterminated, but some escaped extinction and were able to survive to the time period of the Ice Age."

"You, my friend, have got a brain," Roderick told him, as he flies over to sit next to Roger, "You're exactly the type of flying bird I'm looking for to be a part of my ensemble."

"Ensemble?"

"Yeah, I just thought about it right now. How would you like to meet a good friend of mine? He's an eagle and he's not the smartest bird in the sky, but he's smart enough to tie his own shoelaces if he had shoes. But he doesn't."

"Yeah," Freddy said, "At least he's not as dumb as his older brother. He's my best bud and he works out a lot, but he's dumber than a rock. He's so dumb, he mistakes a barbell for corn on the cob."

"I've seen barbells before," Roger said, "Exercising equipment is not edible."

"I've seen the guy stuff weird stuff down his throat. He's an idiot."

"I'd like to meet these eagles, if you don't mind," Gavin said, "Are they at home?"

"Nah, I'm sure they're around here somewhere," Dennis said, "Follow us, new friends."

The dino birds followed behind the hawk family in the air while the high diving show was just finishing up the big finale.

During that time, Louis and Scrat were still waiting for Laura and Scratte to arrive. The girls finally made it as well as Laura's entire family. Louis kept a smile on his face and tried not to embarrass himself.

"Hey, everyone," Louis said.

"Hey, Louis," Laura said, "Sorry we're late. It takes forever to get my little siblings out of the burrow."

"Hey, Scrat," Scratte said, as she giggles.

"Hey, Scratte," Scrat said.

"Now, Laura, your father and I will be over at the kiddie rides with your younger siblings," Marge said, "If you need us, we'll be there."

"And meet us back here at five o'clock," Stew said as he takes out his wallet and hands her some money, "And don't spend all your money in one place," he turns to Louis sternly as he tells him, "Louis, you better be respectful to my daughter. Make sure nothing happens to her."

"Daddy!" Laura said.

"Just letting him know. Now you all go have fun."

"Thanks. See you in a while," Laura places the money in her purse.

"Hey, Laura," Louis said, "Where are your older siblings at?"

"They couldn't make it. They all had to work. I'm glad, though. That means I get to hang out with you. And Scrat and Scratte."

"I don't know about those two," Louis points to Scrat and Scratte having a conversation.

"So did you ever find another acorn in the Ice Age?" Scrat asked.

"No," Scratte said, "Every time I found one, it was rotted from the inside out. It was a bad acorn."

"Looks as though they have each other now," Louis said.

"Well, at least Scrat isn't lonely anymore," Laura said. She takes Louis' paw into hers, but only in a friendly manner, "Let's go do something fun. Wanna ride the bumper cars?"

"Sounds like fun."

While the molehogs and squirrels went off to enjoy their day, Lucas continued walking the herd around the fair and showing them all the fun activities. When they arrived at the ring toss station, the Trunks were there as the children were playing the game while their parents and baby brother was watching them. Manny and Ellie were glad to see them.

"Hey, Richard," Manny said, "Glad to see you here."

Richard turns around to see Manny, "Hey, Manny. How's it going?"

Manny walks over to Richard with Ellie behind him, "Going good. What's going on over here?"

"We're watching the kids play a game of ring toss," Lucille said.

"That sounds like fun," Ellie said.

"It wouldn't be if it wasn't so hard," Billy said.

"I really wanna win that unicorn," Susie said, pointing to the stuffed unicorn on the shelf.

"Not me. I wanna win the water gun," Billy points to the water gun which is right next to the stuffed unicorn.

"That game doesn't seem hard," Manny said, "Let me give it a try."

Lucas hands Manny some quarters, "You might need these."

Manny takes the quarters from Lucas, "Thanks," he give a quarter to the carnie who gives Manny three rings.

"All you gotta do is get one ring in the moving pole," the carnie guy said, "One ring will get you a prize."

"Too easy," Manny said, "Watch this," he tosses the ring, but it misses the moving pole, "Lousy aim," he tosses the second ring, but misses, "What is going on?" he tosses the third ring, but misses once again, "Uh, I wasn't ready. Let's try again," he gives another quarter to the carnie, "I know I can do this."

"This is gonna take a while," Lucas said, "You wanna come with us, Ellie?"

"I'm gonna stay here and keep an eye on Manny," Ellie said, "I don't want him to end up losing his temper."

"Alright, have fun. Come on, everyone."

Manny continues to play ring toss while Ellie and the Trunks watched him. Lucas gathered up the rest of the gang and continued traveling around the fair. Meanwhile, the dino birds followed the hawk family all the way over to the food court. Dennis spots the eagles from below sitting at one of the picnic tables.

"There they are," Dennis said, "Let's land."

"You guys go on ahead," Gertie said, "I'm gonna go get some snacks," she flies over to the main concession stand.

"That's my sister for you," Roger said, "Always thinking about her stomach."

The hawks and dino birds flew over to the eagles and settled at their table. The older eagle looked over at the group and smiled.

"Hey, Dennis," the older eagle said, "How's it going?"

"Going good, Bill," Dennis said, "Hey, I want you to meet some new friends the boys and I just made. These here are the dino birds."

Gavin shakes winged claws with Bill, "Good to meet you. The name's Gavin."

Roger also shakes Bill's winged claws, "Roger. Good to meet you."

Gertie flies over and sits next to Freddy with food in both feathery arms, "What's up? The name's Gertie."

"My big bro's new girlfriend," Roderick teased.

"Shut up, shorthead!" Freddy said as he bonks his little brother in the head.

The muscular eagle hold out his winged claws, "Hey, Freddy! Let's do it!"

"You got it!" Freddy does a secret feather shake with the muscular eagle. He then smacks the eagle's face on the table, making himself and Gertie laugh, "Gets you every time!"

"You're hilarious," Gertie said, laughing.

Freddy places a feathery arm around his eagle friend, "Gertie, this here is my best buddy, Maxwell."

"Good to meet you," Gertie said.

"Can you do sports?" Maxwell asked.

"I'm good at catching fish. Does that count?"

"It would be if you just caught them and didn't swallow them whole," Roger said.

"That kind of reminds me of this movie I saw about this monstrous fish that ate his own kind and then he started going after the people on land," the smaller eagle said, "People call it The Shark Fish."

Roger looks bewildered, but pretended to be interested, "That sounds pretty cool. Anyway, I do apologize for my older sister's eating habits."

"That reminds me of another movie I saw about this guy who kept eating everything until the entire population of food went dry and the human race died out. It's called Food Extinction."

Roderick chuckles, "Don't worry about Rodney here. He loves to talk about movies."

"And comic books," Rodney said, "Hey, have you read the latest issue of Robot Alien of Planet Metallic?"

"I can't say I have," Roger told, "I'm afraid to confess that I'm not from this time period. I was around during the Ice Age."

"I may be dumb, but I'm not that dumb. Dinosaurs weren't around during the Ice Age. Reptiles came before the mammals."

"Oh, but it's true. We arrived here frozen with various other species of mammals. I'll introduce you to some if you want."

"He just said he wasn't dumb, little bro," Gertie said, "At least he's not as dumb as his older brother."

Maxwell licked his beak while holding up a spoon, "Looks crunchy!"

Gavin looks at the teenagers talking amongst themselves and sighs, "Kids these days. They're cute when they're little, but when they're teenagers, life with them just isn't fun."

"Agreed," Bill and Dennis said.

While the dino birds hung out with the eagles and hawks, over in the rides section, the molehogs and squirrels were walking around to find the bumper cars when they saw Crash and Eddie talking to their possum friends, Jenny and Betty. They were conversing with one another while waiting in line for a horrifyingly looking roller coaster.

Louis walks over to the opossums along with Laura and the squirrels, "Hey, guys. What's the big line for?"

"We're all about to ride on one of the greatest and most terrifying roller coasters of all time!" Crash said, as he points to a sign written in huge dark letters, "The Drop of Doom!"

"Jenny and Betty told us that it's the best ride at the fair!" Eddie said.

"They just built it last year," Jenny said, "I heard that some guy rode it and his mouth was so wide opened that it got stuck that way."

"I heard this girl couldn't sleep at nights because she kept having nightmares about dropping forever," Betty said.

"That sounds scary," Scratte said, hiding behind Scrat.

"But it seems unsafe," Scrat said.

"I have to agree," Laura said, "You guys may not be able to ride it because you're short."

"That's stupid," Eddie said, "Height has nothing to do with going on awesome rides."

The possums made it to the front of the line. The employer, who was a penguin in a blue collared shirt, stopped them before they could go through the gate.

"Hold on, you guys," the penguin employer said, "I gotta measure you first. Stand in front of the height pole."

"In this world, height always has something to do with everything you do," Betty said.

The penguin employer measures the possums and shakes his head, "Sorry, guys. Can't let you get on. You're not tall enough."

"What?!" Crash asked in disbelief.

"But we've been dying to go on the ride since we first heard about it!" Eddie said.

"Sorry," the penguin employer said, "It's for your own safety."

Jenny leads the rest of the possums out of the line, "Well, we're not giving up by a long shot, guys. We are getting on that ride and I have the perfect plan on how to make us taller."

Betty takes out her sketch pad, "I better start drawing up some plans."

"Ugh! Sis!"

"Well, you guys have fun doing that," Louis told them, "We're gonna go ride the bumper cars."

"See you later," Laura said.

Over in the games section, Lucas continued leading the remaining herd members through the fair. The sabers spotted some familiar faces over by the skee ball section. Next to them was the Sloths playing the balloon pop game.

Diego cleared his throat, "Fancy bumping into you guys here."

Coach Tony looked behind him to see the sabers, "Well, if it isn't Diego. How have you been?"

"It's been good. What are you guys up to?"

"Just thought we'd bring the kids over to have some fun at the fair," Tammy said, "Skee ball is their favorite game."

"Looks like fun to me," Shira said.

Angela looks over at the remaining herd members and smiled, "Hi, guys. It's so wonderful to see you all here."

"What's that game your son is playing there?" Brooke asked.

"It is a game of precision and accuracy," Danny said, "A game of scientific measures to pop these helium filled inventions and win incredible trophies."

"I still don't understand what he's saying," Sid said.

"It's just his way of saying that the game's called balloon pop," Peter told.

"Oh, okay."

"Well, it does sound like fun," Brooke said.

"Wish we could stick around with you guys, but I don't think Lucas wants us straying from the trail," Shira said.

"No, it's fine, guys," Lucas told, "You all can stay and hang out. We'll show the rest of these guys a good time here."

"Okay, we'll see you guys later," Diego said.

Now the only remaining herd members hanging out with the humans were Gladys, Teddy and Buck. They started going down the walkway to find something fun to do.

Over at the other side of the fair, there was a building the size of a mansion where people were waiting to play a game of laser tag. Inside one part of the building was where Peaches and Julian were playing laser tag with Jessica, Melody and Rob. Rob explained to the mammoths that it was every man and woman for themselves in the game. They had been playing all morning and had only played a few rounds the entire time. None of them would give up until all of them won a game each.

Peaches was sneaking around in search of one of the elephants or her husband. She saw Julian trying to hide behind a skinny pole and shot a laser at him. He screamed and fell on his side in a dramatic way. Peaches laughed, but that ended up making her get caught by Melody. But once Melody came out, Jessica didn't hesitate to take her down, knocking her best friend over. And Rob didn't hesitate to take Jessica down.

"Whoo hoo!" Rob cheered, "I am the champion of laser tag!"

"That's your second win all day!" Jessica said.

"You rock!" Melody said.

"Yeah, I do!" Rob said, "You guys wanna play another round?"

"Yes!" Melody and Jessica said, as they run behind Rob to prepare for another round.

Peaches looked at her husband, "Do you wanna sit this out?"

"No way!" Julian said, "I am not a quitter! I'm gonna keep playing until I win that goldfish."

"Okay. Let's do it."

So the young mammoth couple and teenage elephants resumed their laser tag game. Back on the other side of the fair, Lucas led the remaining herd members to a rolling tunnel mansion called the House of Fun. Kimi took her place over by the exit gate.

"You guys are gonna love this place," Lucas said, "It literally has fun written all over it."

"Looks pretty boring to me," Gladys said.

"Everything about the fair is boring," Stephen said, "It's always the same old stuff."

Buck starts jumping on Stephen's head, "Maybe if you start looking up instead of down, you'll see things in a totally different view."

"That sounds like something my grandmother would say," Nizhoni said.

Stephen removed Buck off his head and dropped him on the ground, "I'm perfectly fine with the type of person I am."

"Come on, guys," Lucas said, "Let's go have some fun," he goes inside the House of Fun.

The rest of the group follows behind. Lucas is literally jumping from wall to wall like Spider-Man. Buck was literally having the time of his life as well as Nizhoni. She enjoyed helping the herd members experience the amazing things the future has given mankind. Gladys and Teddy looked at one another and shook their heads. The funnest place at the fair didn't impress them as they stumbled and fell. Stephen just moved along with the floor staring down at his phone. His fanfiction was more important than the things around him.

When they were finished, Kimi was waiting for everyone at the exit gate.

Kimi smiled, "Did you all have a fun time?"

"The most fun I've ever had, madam!" Buck said, "The future has given my wild side stamina!"

Nizhoni giggled, "I enjoyed myself, too."

"Same here!" Lucas said, pumping his fists up in the air.

Gladys crossed her arms, "I wasn't impressed."

Teddy shook his head, "Neither was I."

"I wasn't paying attention," Stephen said.

"Well there are still lots of other fun stuff to do," Lucas told, "Let's go!"

They all gathered up to find something else that was considered fun.

Back over at the food court, the dino birds were still hanging out with the eagles and hawks. Everyone had just watched Gertie eat five whole pizzas in one sitting without barfing. And she wasn't even finished eating. She was already eating a whole batch of cotton candy.

Maxwell laughed, "That's so cool!"

"I know!" Freddy said, "She literally has a stomach made of iron! She can handle anything she stuffs into her mouth!"

"Thanks," Gertie said, "I always knew I was the best when it comes to eating."

Roger groaned, "I am so mortified."

"What's to be embarrassed about?" Roderick asked, "What I just witnessed was awesome! You've got one cool sister! Don't you agree, Rodney?"

Rodney was completely mesmerized by the pizza food truck and wasn't paying attention when Roderick smacked him on the back of the head, "What?"

"You're such an idiot!"

"I'm just glad he failed to witness anything," Roger said.

Gavin stood up and stretched his wings, "Well, I wish we could stay longer, but I think it's time we start heading out before Gertie starts puking her guts out."

"How do you know she'll puke?" Roderick asked, "She just ate all that food and seems fine to me."

"Oh, believe me. She'll regret all that food on the way home."

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Gavin," Bill said as he gets up and shakes Gavin's winged claws.

"Same to you, Bill," Gavin said as he goes over to Dennis and shakes his feathery fingers, "Good meeting you, too, Dennis."

"Same here, new friend," Dennis said, "Say, how would you like to play a game of poker with me and Bill next Saturday night?"

"No gambling is allowed, by the way," Bill said, "I have strict rules on that. I'm a police officer."

"Sounds like fun," Gavin said, "I'll be there."

"Good meeting you guys," Roger said to Roderick and Rodney.

"Feel free to swing over to my place anytime," Roderick said.

"Mine, too!" Rodney said.

"Peace out, bros!" Gertie said as she high three's Freddy and Maxwell.

"Keep in touch, bra!" Freddy said.

"Bye!" Maxwell said.

After saying their goodbyes, the dino birds took to the skies and started making their way over to the fair entrance where the other herd members were waiting.

It was the end of another fun day. Louis and Scrat were saying their goodbyes to Laura, Scratte and the rest of the large molehog family.

"Bye, Laura!" Louis said.

"See you soon, Scratte!" Scrat said.

"Bye, guys!" Laura and Scratte said as they start following the molehog family.

"See you girls later," Crash said.

"Sorry we weren't able to get on that awesome ride," Eddie said, "I was so psyched and disappointed when we couldn't even ride it."

"Don't worry about it," Jenny said, "Maybe they'll make some updates on it next year."

"I don't get it," Betty said, "I planned out every single detail on how to make us tall enough to go on that roller coaster. None of them worked."

"Stop thinking so much, sis. Notes can't help us with these types of situations. Now let's go home and get you away from planning for a while."

"Peace out!" Crash and Eddie said, as they held up the peace sign with their fingers as the possum girls walked away.

The rest of the herd members made it back with Lucas. Some of them were admiring the prizes they got.

"I'm psyched to have this awesome goldfish!" Julian said, "After seven rounds of laser tag, I finally got the prize I wanted! I think I'm gonna name this guy Floaty Fins."

"It's a better prize than what I got from playing ring toss," Manny said, "I finally win after fifty tries and all I got was this," he holds up a small red bouncy ball in his trunk.

"I never won that balloon pop game, but I did win this," Sid holds up a baby piglet, "I won it in a pig race."

"You won a pig?" Shira asked.

"Don't worry. He's only considered a pet pig. He won't grow very much."

"Bet you're all happy to win something," Diego said, "I didn't win anything."

Gavin lands on the ground with Roger and Gertie, "Sorry it took us so long, you guys. We've been having a pretty good day."

"That's alright, guys," Manny said, "So how did your day go?"

"It was great. We made some new friends."

Roger tapped his father's shoulders, "Uh, Dad. You might wanna help Gertie."

Gertie's stomach growls, "Come on, iron stomach. Keep it down," then she throws up.

"Oh, Gertie!" Gavin said.

"I warned you!" Roger said.

Gertie wiped her beak off, "Okay, I'm good. Let's go home."

"Tell us about these new friends you met," Ellie said.

"Well, let me just say that all of us will get along just fine," Gavin said.

Gavin told the herd members all about the eagles and hawks on the way out of the parking lot. The lights of the fair continued to shine as the night began.

**The End.**

**Voice cast:**

**Nick Offerman as Gavin**

**Stephanie Beatriz as Gertie**

**Max Greenfield as Roger**

**Tom Kane as Dennis**

**Jordan Peele as Freddy**

**Keegan-Michael Key as Roderick**

**Jeff Bennet as Bill**

**John DiMaggio as Maxwell**

**Jim Cummings as Rodney (pretend Rodney sounds like Jim Cummings' portrayal of Beaky Buzzard on The Looney Tunes Show)**

**Ray Romano as Manny**

**John Leguizamo as Sid**

**Denis Leary as Diego**

**Queen Latifah as Ellie**

**Jessie J as Brooke**

**Jennifer Lopez as Shira**

**Seann-William Scott as Crash**

**Josh Peck as Eddie**

**Keke Palmer as Peaches**

**Adam DeVine as Julian**

**Josh Gad as Louis**

**Chris Wedge as Scrat**

**Simon Pegg as Buck**

**Wanda Sykes as Gladys**

**Michael Strahan as Teddy**

**Greg Cipes as Lucas**

**Seth Green as Stephen**

**Michelle St. John as Nizhoni**

**Linda Hunt as Kimi**

**Miranda Cosgrove as Laura**

**Karen Disher as Scratte**

**Jennette McCurdy as Jenny**

**Daniella Monet as Betty**

**Tori Kelly as Melody**

**Scarlett Johansson as Jessica**

**Jason Griffith as Rob**

**Sean Murray as Richard**

**Kelly Metzger as Lucille**

**Madyx Whiteway as Billy**

**Isabella Crovetti as Susie**

**Stephen Stanton as Peter**

**Katey Sagal as Angela**

**Iain Armitage as Danny**

**Mark Harmon as Coach Tony**

**Kathleen Barr as Tammy**

**Julie Kavner as Marge**

**Dan Castellaneta as Stew**

**That's the end. It looks like this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship between the Dino Birds, hawks and eagles. I hope you enjoyed this story. Reply below! Happy 1st Day of Summer!**


	3. The Buckminster Journey

** ICE AGE: MODERN LIFE**

**THE BUCKMINSTER JOURNEY**

**The next Ice Age: Modern Life one-shot story is here. This one is about Buck. On here, Buck meets new friends who let him join them on their latest adventure. Meanwhile, Diego and Shira find some kittens and want to keep them.**

It's a beautiful day in Icetropolis Park. The snow and glistening Sun made the place look like a winter wonderland in the summer. Animals and humans were going about their relaxing day, but there was a certain weasel who was ready for anything the future threw at him.

That's right. Buck was at it again being the adventurous little mammal he is. Since there were no vines in the city, Buck had to stick to using ropes he tied to the tree branches as he swung from tree to tree. This was basically his obstacle course for the day. He didn't want to lose his touch, so he continued practicing his maneuvers every day to make sure his adventurous side wasn't slipping away.

While doing so, he continued looking out for danger and mischief. He swung by and so far has helped a little girl retrieve her tiger backpack from some bullies, saved a wrecked toy ship from the pond, and replaced somebody's empty Dr. Pepper soda bottle with a fresh one. And then his work was complete.

After helping the citizens of the park, Buck sat down on some tree branches, sighing in sadness. The rest of the herd was out and about doing their own activities for the day, leaving Buck lonely. Although it wasn't the first time Buck was left behind. He wasn't the type of weasel to sit in one place. He was the type of weasel that was always out and about doing something. But what was so fun about the big city? Nothing exciting ever happens.

Buck searched through his leaf made shoulder bag. He was glad to salvage at least one thing from the past. He took his baby pumpkin, Bronwyn, out and started rocking her to sleep while looking out at the humans and animals. He saw some human men fishing at the pond. He saw a cheetah couple having a picnic underneath a giant oak tree covered in sparkling snow. He saw some children having fun at the indoor playground. And the rest of the citizens were either walking their dogs or jogging on the trail.

"Look at me," Buck said, "I'm sitting here all alone doing absolutely nothing. There's nothing exciting about the future. Everything is just… boring. Where's the fun around here, anyway? I wish I could just do something that can throw away my boredom. I want to travel all over the world. Find something to battle. I wish I could go on an adventure!"

Then, suddenly, something came up and hit Buck on the back of the head. He looked beside him to see a folded piece of paper shaped into an airplane. He picked it up and unfolded it. He examined it up and down and finally saw that it was a treasure map. A real live treasure map.

Buck looks at his pumpkin daughter, "Well, it seems as though I finally have something to do," placing Bronwyn in his shoulder bag, he smiled and laughed, "Time for an adventure! For danger! And possibly death!"

He used the ropes he carried around with him to escape out of the park and make his way into the city, following the directions on the map.

Transitioning into the city, walking down the sidewalk were Diego and Shira as they had exited a bookstore called Small Little Books. Shira was carrying a book in her saddle bag that was over on her back. Tammy, her anthropomorphic tiger friend, bought it for her to make it easy to carry her belongings in.

"I cannot wait to start learning how to read this incredible book Tammy recommended," Shira said, "She says it's filled with so much drama, romance and supernatural activities."

"What's it called again?" Diego asked.

"It's called Twilight. It's about a girl named Bella who's heart is telling her that she's in love with a vampire but there's a werewolf that she cares for, too. But she said I had to read the first book to understand it."

They were passing by an indoor farmer's market where Diego stumped his paw on a wooden crate. He shrieked in pain and started shaking it off. But the crate started moving around and made mewling sounds from the inside.

"What the-" Diego said. He looked in the crate to see three little kittens running around, "What are these little guys?"

Shira looks inside the crate and gasps, "I think they might be sabers like us. Or some different type of species that originated from our kind," she picks up one of them, "They must still be little, though. I don't think they know how to talk yet."

The cat Shira was holding was a little orange colored male tabby cat. The one Diego picked up was a gray colored female tabby cat. And the tabby cat still left in the crate was a tan colored female with some orange on her back. The one Shira held was nuzzling up to her, trying to fall asleep.

"Isn't that adorable?" Shira asked.

"Yeah," Diego agreed, "I'm still wondering why these little guys are out here on their own."

"Where do you think their mother is?"

"Well, they probably don't have a mother anymore if they were left out here all by themselves."

Shira starts to feel bad for the kittens, "Well, I'm not leaving them out here all by themselves. I think we should keep them so they'll be safe with someone."

"Shira, we don't know the first thing about taking care of these cubs or whatever the type of feline they are."

"But we can learn how to. Let's go over and ask Tammy and Tony. They may know how to help us."

Placing the kittens back in the crate, Diego carried the wooden box in his mouth and followed Shira down the sidewalk to get the Tigers' home.

Back over on the other side of the city, Buck was actually making his way out of the city limits. The map told him that his destination would be inside the midst of Icetropolis Forest. It was such a beautiful place filled with glistening snow. It wouldn't be too hard to mistake it as a winter wonderland.

While Buck was sightseeing, he was also looking for a mailbox where he was to travel down a hole right next to it. After walking around for a little bit while staying on the trail, the crazy weasel finally found the mailbox and the burrow right next to it. On the mailbox, it had this written in big red letters: The Journeys.

Buck figured it an odd family name, but he shrugged and hopped down into the burrow. The moment he stepped on the ground, though, a swarm of arrows came shooting out at him. He ran through the burrow, missing every arrow that flew up towards him and caught one in his paws.

Buck laughed, "I've still got it!"

"That's some remarkable reflexes you got there!" an australian accent voice said.

Buck looked around in confusion, "Who said that?"

"I did," the australian accent voice said. Buck looked to see a male weasel with dark brown fur and wearing a wilderness hat standing on the other side of the burrow, "Welcome to our home, mate. The name's Steve Journey. The most adventurous weasel in the world!"

Popping out from behind the weasel were more weasel consisting of a woman with light brown fur and make-up, a young boy with his father's fur, a baby boy with his father's fur and his mother's eyes and an older man with dark grey fur and wearing a pair of white gloves. They came out shooting things such as rocks and marbles. Even a baby toy was thrown at him, courtesy of the baby.

"Pop goes the weasel!" Buck said.

"Yes, I will admit that we are rather strange in our own way," Steve said, "Allow me to introduce my family. This is my wife, Jane. Our eldest son, Jacob. Our youngest son, Noah. And this old coot here is my father, Irwin. And together we are the Journey family. Always seeking for adventure."

"We're so glad you accepted our treasure map invitation," Jane said.

"So this here was an invitation to your humble burrow?" Buck asked.

"Aye, mate," Steve said, "I had saw you once over at the park doing all your incredible and crazy stunts that only an adventurer can handle. So my family and I discussed it over dinner last night and we've made the decision to have you come along on our next adventure that we just heard about an hour ago."

"An adventure, you say? Tell me more!"

"We were given word from our news reporter friend that a very beautiful and ancient jewel was stolen from the Great Pyramid of Giza."

"And it wasn't just any old jewel, no siree," Irwin said, "This jewel belonged to the great Pharaoh Khufu."

"Also known as the Jewel of Khufu," Jacob said.

"What's a Pharaoh?" Buck asked.

"They were once known as the leaders of Egypt and were treated like kings," Jane said, "But now they have a president in control of the company."

"And are we in charge of finding the crooks that stole such a valuable possession?"

"Right you are, mate," Steve said, "But we can't go on such a mission until we know if you are willing to join us on this adventure."

"Where do I sign up?"

"Are you sure you want to do this? Are you ready to handle the dangers and possibly death on this mission?"

"I've been through worse in the past. You see this over my eye?" Buck pointed to his eye patch, "My eye was lost after being clawed out by a ferocious carnivorous beast named… Rudy," he says the beast's name in a dark, creepy voice.

"How awesome is that?" Jacob asked.

"But, to answer your question, yes," Buck said, "I am willing to join you all."

"Excellent, mate," Steve said, "We'll leave right away."

"But first things first," Jane said, "We need to stop by and see our historian to learn more about what this jewel is and who may be behind all this."

"Right you are, love. To the bookstore!"

So the Journey family and Buck set out for their adventure to the bookstore before heading over to Egypt.

Back over in the city, around in the suburban area, Diego and Shira were inside the Tigers' home where they brought over the kittens. The moment the little felines came into sight, Tammy and Sophie were just surrounding them with affection.

"Oh, my gosh!" Sophie said, "They are so adorable! I've never been surrounded by such cuteness in my whole life!"

"Oh, they're such sweet little cuties!" Tammy said, "I just wanna give them all the love and attention that they deserve!" she picked up one of the kittens and started cuddling them.

Matt sticks his tongue out in disgust, "Dad, Mom and Sophie are acting weird again."

"Be nice, son," Coach Tony said, "They're just enjoying the company of the kittens."

Matt rolls his eyes, "I've had enough of this. I'll be in the backyard if anyone needs me," he escapes into the kitchen to exit the house into the backyard.

Tammy looks at the sabers, "Where did you find these sweetie pies at?"

"And can I please keep them?" Sophie asked, as she looks at her father, "I promise to give them all the love they deserve."

Coach Tony chuckles nervously while rubbing the back of his neck, "Well, princess, pets are a very big responsibility and I'm just not quite sure if you're ready to own a pet of your own just yet."

"And we were actually planning to keep the kittens," Shira said.

"Aw, man! Life is so unfair for me!" Sophie said as she walks upstairs to her room.

"Just out of honesty, I'm not comfortable with the idea of keeping cats as pets," Coach Tony said, "They are a part of the feline family and tigers are felines."

"Well, Diego and I were hoping that since you two have taken care of kids of your own, maybe you might be able to help us take care of these little guys?" Shira asked.

"We wanna keep them, but we wanna make sure we know how to handle them properly," Diego said.

"Well, I can help you with that," Tammy said, "I have a book that can give you all the information you need to know about cats. I'd be happy to teach you."

"That would be wonderful," Shira said.

"Excellent. Now let's head over to your home. I'll take you there in my car."

The sabers, along with the kittens, hopped into Tammy's Honda car and drove off to the mansion.

Back in the city, Buck and the Journey family were riding in a Jeep down the busy roads and parked in front of a bookstore. The name of it was Small Little Books. The weasels hopped out of the vehicle, set booby trap alarms inside and walked inside the store.

Buck was beginning to think the whole thing was boring if they had to get all their information from a person who sells boring old books. The person that Buck was referring to happens to be a female weasel with red fur, blue eyes, wore red rimmed designed glasses and pearl earrings. He considered her a beautiful and intelligent woman and would of been great to consider a friend, but in his mind, she seemed so…. ordinary.

"Hello, Journey family," the female weasel said. She spoke in a British accent unlike the others who all had Australian accents, "So good to see you all."

"Ay, Rebecca," Steve said, "Good to see you as well. We've bought along a new friend we'd like you to meet," he pulls Buck up closer to the counter, "This here is Buck. He's an adventurer just like us."

"Fascinating! A pleasure to meet you, Buck. I'm Rebecca."

Buck shakes paws with Rebecca, "Good to meet you, madam," he leans over towards Steve and whispers in his ear, "She's a nice looking gal, but she seems a bit…. boring."

"Ah, looks can be deceiving, mate," Steve told him, "You may see Rebecca as a woman who runs a bookstore, but she's more than meets the eye."

"Steve's right," Jane said, "Rebecca and I have been best friends since childhood. We used to go adventuring all the time. After Steve and I got married, she went to live the one dream she's always wanted: to own a bookstore. But she still remains our family historian."

"And I can already tell why you all are here," Rebecca said, "Jonathon made the report on his radio station about the stolen jewel from the Great Pyramid of Giza."

"Aye," Steve said, "The ancient Jewel of Khufu. I'm sure you all know about it."

"Certainly," Rebecca took out one of her books about the history of Egypt. She flipped through until she found the page about Khufu, "Ah, here it is. The great Pharaoh Egypt. He was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty, in the first half of the Old Kingdom period which was during the 26th century in B.C. years. Khufu succeeded his father Sneferu as king and is generally accepted as having commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but many other aspects of his reign are poorly documented."

"One of the few things that are known about him is that he's spent his entire reign preparing for his afterlife," Irwin said.

"There was once a time when Khufu sent several expeditions in an attempt to find turquoise and copper mines," Rebecca said, "He found one such turquoise that caught his eye and became known as the Jewel of Khufu shortly after he died. As we all know, Egypt is known for the curses that were spread upon the land during the reign of Ramses the second. If we don't return that jewel to its resting place, terrible things may happen."

"And that's where we come in," Steve said.

"So now that we've done our research, it's time to go to Egypt," Buck said, "Better get a move on. It's a long walk there."

"Silly you, Buck," Rebecca said, "You can't simply walk there. Egypt is a country far away from here. Lucky for you, we've been there before and know the way. Follow me, everyone."

The weasels went through a door that led to an empty alleyway with nothing but a dumpster. That's what Buck thought it was at first until Rebecca moved it. Turns out the dumpster was nothing more than wooden board with paint coated on it. Underneath it was a small airplane that could fit twenty weasels. Buck couldn't believe his eyes.

"What is this amazing contraption?" Buck asked.

"This here is an airplane," Rebecca told, "Have you never seen one before?"

"Nope. The Ice Age never had this."

"So you're one of the mammals from the past that I've heard so much about. I should've noticed you from the moment I first saw you which was just a few minutes ago. But we'll talk about all that later. Right now we have a mission to go on. If you will allow me to accompany you all."

"You're always welcomed to adventure with us," Steve said.

"Excellent," Rebecca said. She began placing a red traveler's scarf around her neck and traded in her glasses for contacts. Once she was complete, she hopped into pilot's seat, "Climb aboard, everyone. I may have an idea to whole the jewel. And I have a feeling that they're still in Egypt."

The Journey family and Buck hopped into the airplane. Jane strapped the children in and the males hopped in after them.

"You were right when you said Rebecca was more than meets the eye," Buck said to Steve.

"Aye, mate," Steve said.

"To Egypt we go!" Rebecca said.

The plane took off to the skies as the weasels were making their way to the mysterious country in the world.

Over at the mansion, Tammy kept herself busy with helping Diego and Shira learn everything they need to know in order to take care of the kittens they adopted. On the way over to the mansion, they had stopped by the pet store to pick up kitty litter, cat food, cat dishes for the kittens food and water and the occasional bowl of milk, cat treats, cat beds, cat toys and cat shampoo, conditioner and liquid soap. Once they return home, Tammy spent the last two hours going over everything and even showing the sabers what they need to do.

Then Tammy said it was starting to get late and she needed to head home to get dinner ready for her family. But she went over everything one last time.

"Now remember," Tammy said, "Always make sure to clean out the litter box at least once a day. Sometimes two if bowel movements are bad. Don't forget to feed them twice a day and only give them a treat and a bowl of milk when they're good. Never bother them when they take their catnaps. Let them play with their toys and don't forget to let them go outside for a couple of hours a day. Also, make sure to give them a bath before nightfall so they'll be fresh and clean by morning. Well, that's everything you need to know. Don't hesitate to call if you have any questions. Bye, now."

"See you later," Diego said.

"Thanks again," Shira said. She sighed as the door automatically closed on its own. She looked at the kittens who were playing with one another, "Who knew that taking care of kittens would be so much work?"

"Well, cubs won't be easy to take care of, either."

"Wait. You still wanna have cubs?"

"Why not? Sure, we're in a new time period, but that can't prevent us from having kids."

Shira smiled and hugged Diego, "I love you, softie."

Diego returned the embrace, "Same here, kitty."

The sabers knew that cubs wouldn't be easy to take care of, but the kittens would help them through the path of having cubs of their own.

Meanwhile, up in the air, the weasels finally made it over to Cairo, the capital city of Egypt. They landed in the outskirts of the city and started making their way over to the city limits. Rebecca started sniffing around in the air.

"The thieves are here," Rebecca said, "I can smell them. I have a feeling the thieves are around the city somewhere and by the research I've done, these robbers have been known to steal jewels all over the world since the dawn of time."

"What clues should we look out for?" Buck asked.

"A suspicious looking group of people or animals," Steve said, "Sometimes they'll cloak themselves so they won't be seen."

"I have an idea," Irwin said, "Why don't we trap them?"

"Excellent idea," Buck said, "We can surround the one place the thieves will go. A place with lots of jewels."

They heard the sound of bells ringing and caught cloaked figures rushing out of a jewelry store with stolen items bundled in their arms. The owner of the store rushed out waving his fist in the air yelling in the Arabic language spoken in Egypt.

"Easier than I thought!" Jane said.

"Let's go catch some baddies!" Jacob said.

"Follow their trail!" Buck said.

The Journey family and Buck raced down the streets in Cairo. Rebecca quickly flew her plane over to her and hopped in, flying off in the air.

The weasels on the ground rushed through to stop the thieves from taking off out of the city. They climbed inside a black vehicle and took off down the streets. But the weasels climbed into a taxi cab with Steve taking the wheel. They continued until they were in the desert. With the speed they were going, it didn't take them long until they ended up around the Egyptian monuments.

"Incredible!" Buck said, "I've never seen such giant statues!"

"Not all of these are statues," Jane said, "Some of them are world renowned monuments."

"There's the Spinx!" Jacob said, as he points out at a monument that had the body of a lion and head of a pharaoh.

"Huh!" Buck said, "I wonder what happened to his nose."

"We're losing them!" Irwin said, pointing at the black car gaining speed.

"I can't gain any more speed!" Steve said, "Any faster and the engine might explode!"

Buck thinks for a moment and snaps his fingers, "I have an idea! Steve, roll down the window!"

"Okay," Steve rolls down the window, "What do you plan to do?"

Buck removes a rope from his satchel, "You'll see!" he jumps out the window and hops on top of the car, "Let's do this!"

Buck looped the rope and swinging it around like a cowboy, he swung the loop around the rearview mirror of the thieves' vehicle. He let the speed of the car fling him onto the roof. Buck hopped over to the hood and opened it, making the thieves scream in fear and worriment.

Buck didn't know much about vehicles, but he knew from his time in the future that water and electricity don't mix. He took out a bottle of Dr. Pepper and started pouring it inside the battery. It started sparking and ended up blowing up. The car flew up in the air, but Buck looped the rope on top of a pyramid and swung over to it, drinking the rest of the Dr. Pepper in the bottle he had. He laughed with excitement.

When the black vehicle crashed, the thieves tried to escape as they were able to open the doors and crawl on the ground with the jewels in their arms. That was before the Journey family knocked them down with slingshot pebbles and marbles. Except for baby Noah who threw his pacifier at the bandits.

Rebecca flew by in her plane and dropped a net down on them. The thieves were trapped and caught.

Buck jumped down from the tip of the pyramid using his rope while Rebecca landed the plane. They both walked over to the family of weasels where Steve unhooded the leader. The rest of the group unhooded themselves too. They were all a flock of griffins.

"Well, what do you know?" Steve asked, "It's our favorite robbers. The part lion, part eagle jewel snatchers of the world."

"Also known as griffins," Rebecca said.

"Never have I thought I would see a creature such as these," Buck said, "But why would they take the jewel?"

"Griffins love anything shiny and won't hesitate to get their claws all over it," Jane said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" the griffin leader said, "Seems as though you brought someone else along for the ride, you stupid rats!"

"We're not rats!" Buck said, "We're weasels!"

Irwin slaps the leader of the griffin gang in the face, "Okay, time to start confessing, Darry. Where'd you hide the jewels?"

"I ain't talking," Darry said.

Irwin continued slapping the griffins over and over until Darry finally screamed in agony and started bawling.

"Okay! Okay! We'll tell ya! Just stop slapping us!"

Steve grabs his father's paws gently and lowered them away from the griffins, "Where's the Jewel of Khufu?"

"It's in the trunk!" Darry said, "In a black suitcase!"

Steve walked over to the turned over vehicle and opened the trunk. The black suitcase fell out and opened on its own, revealing the turquoise jewel.

"Yes!" Rebecca said, "The Jewel of Khufu! We found it!"

"So now that we've given you what you wanted, will you let us go?" Darry asked.

"You know good and well what the answer to that question is," Steve told him.

The griffins sighed in defeat.

During the last couple of hours, the police came and confiscated the thieves and collecting the jewels stolen from the jewelry store. They let the weasels return the Jewel of Khufu back to its original home.

The band of weasels traveled to the Great Pyramid of Giza and set the jewel back in its resting place near Khufu's tombstone. Buck shook paws with Steve.

"I really want to thank you guys for such a wonderful adventure," Buck told, "You really brought back the old Buckminster within me."

"Happy to have given you back a life of excitement," Steve said.

"And you're always welcomed to come on adventures with us whenever you want," Jane said.

"You are one of the most super, ultra, diesel weasels I've ever met!" Jacob said.

"And I'd be happy to offer you reading lessons so you can read all sorts of amazing things if you ever feel bored," Rebecca said, "But reading is the first step to every adventure."

"If it leads me to new adventures, I'll do it," Buck said, "But this adventure is missing one thing."

"What's that?" Steve asked.

"At the end of all my adventures, there's usually an explosion or a giant booby trap just waiting to squash us. But, nonetheless, this was a really exciting adventure."

"Steve, where's your father?" Jane asked.

The group looked around until they found Irwin examining a cat statue.

"This looks interesting," Irwin said, "I better look through it to see if there are any hieroglyphics on it."

Once he picked it up, though, it set off a rumbling alarm. A large stone door lifted up from the ground and released a giant boulder from inside.

"Run!" Rebecca shouted.

"Yes!" Buck said, "Every ending always has danger!"

The weasels made their escape through the halls of the pyramid. The adventure ends with the adventurers jumping through the exit with the giant boulder crashing through.

And with Buck shouting his famous shout:

"Yee-haw!"

**The End.**

**Voice cast:**

**Simon Pegg as Buck**

**Carlos Alazraqui as Steve**

**Jill Talley as Jane**

**Andy Richter as Jacob**

**Danny Trejo as Irwin**

**Hynden Walch as Rebecca**

**Joe Pesci as Darry**

**Denis Leary as Diego**

**Jennifer Lopez as Shira**

**Mark Harmon as Coach Tony**

**Kathleen Barr as Tammy**

**Zachary Arthur as Matt**

**Olivia Edward as Sophie**

**I hope you like this story. Credit goes to ninjagogirl luvs iceage21 for helping me. So comment below.**


	4. Pedro the Predator

**ICE AGE: MODERN LIFE**

** PEDRO THE PREDATOR**

**Okay, this is the next Ice Age: Modern Life one-shot story. Coach Tony and Diego run into somebody Tony knows in the past, and that somebody wants revenge. Meanwhile, Peaches wants to adopt a puppy and her friend, Jessica helps her out.**

Another day has arrived in Icetropolis and what better way to spend it than to exercise the day away at the Planet Fitness gym.

That's exactly what Coach Tony and Diego did that very morning. Coach Tony took the time to show Diego around the gym, a place where nobody judged others for who they were for size or shape. He was even able to place Diego on his guest list so the saber could get free membership in the gym. That way they can both stay in shape all the time.

Coach Tony took all the time to teach Diego different types of exercising regimens and dieting workouts. He even taught the saber all the workout machines such as the treadmill and the bicycle. They were even lifting weights, which is one of Diego's favorite workouts. Coach Tony enjoyed it himself.

"How are you liking Planet Fitness so far?" Coach Tony asked.

"The best place on the whole planet," Diego said, "Nobody to judge you for who you are and nobody to stop you from enjoying the exercise."

"You said it, buddy."

Throughout the time they were there, Coach Tony kept looking around and thought he saw somebody familiar. Somebody he thought he knew from somewhere before. He couldn't tell, though, since the figure kept disappearing like a ghost from one place of the gym to the other. He literally thought he was going crazy, but he knew he saw someone.

Diego was concerned for his new tiger friend as he paused in his weight-lifting.

"Something wrong?" Diego asked.

"I kept thinking I was seeing someone I knew, but I guess my mind's playing tricks on me," Coach Tony said.

"Who was it you kept seeing?"

Coach Tony shrugs, "Not sure. Come on. Let's keep lifting. These muscles aren't gonna pop up themselves, you know."

So the two felines continued their exercising routine. Coach Tony was right to see somebody he once knew.

And that somebody was gonna make him pay.

Over at the cul-de-sac, Peaches was over at Jessica's house hanging out with her and Melody. They were playing with Jessica's poodle, Cheeky. She was so cute and small and adorable. And Peaches just loved throwing Cheeky her pink squishy ball.

"Oh, my gosh!" Peaches said, "Cheeky is the cutest poodle ever!"

"I know, right?" Jessica said, "My parents adopted her over at the animal shelter and surprised me on her birthday. She's the best gift ever."

"I'd love to have a puppy of my own, but my mom's allergic to them," Melody said.

"I'd love to have a puppy, too," Peaches said.

"Is anyone in the mansion allergic to dogs?" Jessica said.

"No, we've been around dogs before. None of us are allergic. It's just I don't know how to be a pet owner and I'm willing to learn if it means I can have a puppy."

"Well, I can help you with that. Let's go over to the animal shelter. They have lots of puppies I'm sure you'll love."

"Sounds awesome. Let's go."

"I wish I could come along, but I need to start heading over to my summer choir class," Melody said, "See you girls later," she starts walking down the sidewalk.

"See you, Melody," Jessica said, "Come on, Peach."

The two started heading out to the city which is where Diego and Coach Tony were seen walking out of Planet Fitness.

The male tiger and saber were walking down the sidewalk away from the gym, chatting about how good a time they had at the gym. Once they made it to the corner, they caught a robbery happening. Someone with a hoodie with the hood over their head was stealing an old woman's purse. He snatched it from her hands and ran off. Diego and Coach Tony went to help the poor woman off the ground after being knocked over.

"Hold on, ma'am," Coach Tony said, "We'll help you."

"Oh, thank you so much," the old woman said, "But that thief has my purse."

"We'll get it for you," Diego said, "Just stay here."

The two males went off in pursuit to catch the purse snatcher. The thief turned corner after corner until they finally turned into an alleyway. Diego and Coach Tony stopped since there was a brick wall blocking any use of escape.

"The thief's gotta be around here somewhere," Coach Tony said, "This brick wall's a dead end."

"He couldn't have just disappeared out of thin air," Diego said as he searches the entire alley, "Hey, buddy! Come on out and confess to your crimes!"

"I don't think that'll make them come out."

Then shadows came up out of nowhere and jumped on top of the males. They were knocked out by baseball bats and dragged out of the alley through a door behind the dumpster.

A couple of hours passed. When Diego and Coach Tony came to, they took a close look at their surroundings. The room they were trapped inside was dark and only litted by candles and lanterns. There were silhouettes of shadows standing in front of them. Coach Tony gasped.

"Diego, don't panic, but I know where we are," Coach Tony said, "We're inside a gang's hideout."

"A gang's hideout?" Diego asked, "Why would a gang bring us here and tie us up? At least I think I'm tied up."

"Hey, boss," the gang boy said, "Looks like Sleeping Beauty 1 and 2 are awake."

"Those two were so dumb to take the bait," the gang girl said, "I love having someone to beat up."

"Who's your boss?" Coach Tony asked, "Why are we here?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the boss said, "What a shame, Coach. I figured you'd remember me."

Out came the boss. He's formally known as your typical bad boy. He wears a black leather jacket, a plain white shirt, blue jeans with rips around the knees, and a pair of dirty tennis shoes fit for a tiger's feet. (You can't tell what color they are because they're completely covered in filth.) He also wears a pair of sunglasses and carries a comb around with him to comb back the top fur on his head.

Coach Tony gasps, "No! It can't be you! It just can't."

"Tony, who is this guy?" Diego asked.

"Why didn't you introduce me, Coach?" the boss asked, "You know me as well as you know your other players."

Tony sighs, "Diego, this is Pedro. Pedro, this is Diego. Now what do you want?"

"Oh, Coach," Pedro said, "I think you and I both know what I want. I want revenge. I want revenge on everything you ever did to me back in high school."

"You did this to yourself, Pedro," Coach Tony said, "I'm not the one that got you expelled."

"It's your fault I'm in this situation. You should've stopped me from making a fool out of myself on the field. It's your fault I wasn't able to live the normal life I wanted. Now I've got full control of a gang. And it's all because of you."

"Take all the revenge you want on me, but leave Diego out of this. Just let him go."

"Sorry. He knows too much."

"I don't even understand what's going on," Diego said.

"I've had enough of talking," Pedro said, "Predators! Start clawing away!"

The gang, who were a bunch of felines from big cats to little cats, untied the two males so they could strike right at them, but when the ropes came off, Diego and Coach Tony's fists came out. They started taking down every member of the gang in paw-to-paw combat. Once that dispute was settled, they ran off to the door that led them to a long hallway. They could hear Pedro shouting at them.

"Hey! Get back here!" Pedro said.

They both continued running until they came upon another door. They swung it open, ran outside and shut it tight. They pushed the dumpster in front of the door so Pedro wouldn't come out and catch them.

The males were out of breath, but lucky to be alive. Diego, on the other hand, was confused about everything.

"Alright, Tony, spill it," Diego said, "Who were those guys? And how do you know that Pedro kid?"

Coach Tony sighs, "I promise to explain everything. Let's head over to Denny's and get some lunch while we're at it," then he pulled out a blue strap hanging from outside the dumpster and dragged out a woman's purse, "But let's go return this purse to that sweet old gal we helped first."

Once they completed their first deed, to which the old woman thanked them with a cake she bought for them at the bakery she was waiting in, they headed over to the Denny's and started chowing down on burgers. Coach Tony wasn't really eating much, though, and decided to tell Diego everything about Pedro.

"Okay," Tony said, "I'll tell you everything I know about Pedro and why he's after me. It was four years ago. I just got promoted to be the high school football coach that year. There were a lot of good players on the team, especially the seniors. But no senior was as great as Pedro. He was captain of the football team and was one of the most popular students in school. Everyone loved him. He always made the crowd proud. He always gave a hundred and ten percent. Never had any problems.

"Then came one of our playoff games. It was the game that would've led us to the championship game. A college scout had visited to pick out any players that would be right for their team at Icetropolis University. Pedro wanted to make a good impression and started showing off by trying to play by himself. He ended up making one mistake. He passed the ball to a player on the other team. They ended up scoring and my boys lost the season.

"Pedro was furious with the fact that the college scout chose the player on the other team that scored the winning touchdown. He didn't show up for school for two whole weeks. When he came back, though, he refused to participate in gym class. I finally told him that if he didn't shape up, he would get shipped out. That's when he finally snapped.

"He ran out into the halls. I ran after him. He found two girls walking down the hall and decided to take his anger out on them. I made it just in time before he even went near them. I took the hit. I let him harm me. I'd rather take the beating than let innocent students get hurt. He was taken out of the school in handcuffs and the principal expelled him. I haven't seen him since."

"Whoa," Diego said.

"Yeah," Coach Tony said, nodding, "It's hard to look someone that you haven't seen in four years in the eyes and not forget the things they've done. I figured he was still in jail, but I guess his parents bailed him out and let him join a gang. Now that he's found me, I don't know what to do."

"We can go back and stop them. Maybe put them and Pedro behind bars. Or probably get Pedro some help."

"It's too risky, Diego. Gangs are tough to beat. I've put you through enough turmoil by dragging you into my problems."

"I've put myself through other people's problems before. What's so different about yours?"

"This isn't your time period, Diego. It's mine. And mine is filled with more dangers than you could imagine," Tony gets up from the stool and set the money on the counter, "I better head home before Tammy starts to worry. See you tomorrow," he walks out of the diner.

Diego was stumped. He wanted to help Coach Tony, but wasn't sure how. Perhaps talking and putting a little sense into him might work. Nobody puts Coach Tony in the corner. And Diego wouldn't let anything happen to his friend.

Over at the Icetropolis Animal Shelter, Peaches and Jessica were looking at all the dogs jumping around and playing in their roomy kennels. Peaches fell in love with every single one of them, but she knew she could only choose one. And she was glad Jessica came to help her out.

"Oh, they're all so cute," Peaches said, "I'm just not sure which one to pick."

"Some puppies can become big dogs," Jessica said, "I prefer having a small dog."

Peaches looks at a labrador puppy, "Oh, look at this little cutie! I wonder how big this one will get."

"Labradors can grow a decent size. They're sweet, but they tend to make a mess."

Peaches looks at a German shepherd puppy, "Oh, that one is so adorable!"

"German shepherds are really cute and playful as puppies, but they can become really serious and aggressive when they're grown. But they do listen to commands and can help people as service dogs. I'm not saying they aren't good to have as a pet, but they're more of dogs who only listens to commands."

"Oh. Well, I'm not giving up," Peaches looks around and sees a chihuahua, "Oh, this one is so precious!"

"Chihuahuas don't grow very big, but they do tend to get feisty from time to time. And I don't think you can handle those little guys. Come on. Let's keep looking."

Peaches and Jessica spent the rest of the afternoon searching the animal shelter for the perfect dog. They stayed there until closing time. Peaches sighed as she and Jessica walked down to the bus stop.

"We searched that whole shelter," Peaches said, "They're all so cute and adorable and would make the perfect pet, but none of them are right for me."

"Don't worry, Peach," Jessica said, "We'll find a dog that suits your needs. I'll take you over to the pet store tomorrow. They have lots of dogs over there."

"Awesome!"

So the two climbed up on the next bus and headed for their homes as the sun started lowering and the moon began rising.

The night came and went as morning approached. Walking down the sidewalk at the suburban area was Diego. He turned himself into the Tigers' driveway and walked up to the door. When he knocked, he saw a video camera pointing itself at him. He looked into the camera and waved.

"Hello?" Diego answered, "Is anyone home?"

Diego heard footsteps and rummaging chains and locks at the front door. Opening it was Coach Tony, sighing a breath of relief.

"Oh, I'm glad it's just you, Diego," Coach Tony said.

"Morning, Tony," Diego said, "What's that thing you got up there?" he pointed at the camera.

"It's a security camera. I installed it up there to keep a lookout for suspicious people. No bad guys will ever enter the premises of my house."

"Well, it's time for us to head over to the gym in town. We driving or walking there?"

"Actually, I feel more comfortable exercising here at my gym upstairs. You're welcomed to come inside and join me if you want."

"Come on, Tony. This isn't like you. Whatever happened to the big buffed courageous tiger football coach?"

"He started hiding out after finding out Pedro was still out there. I can't risk anything happening to my family. I'm sorry, Diego. But being away from the city and the gang is safer than putting the people I love in danger."

"I understand, but this Pedro guy is just a kid. A young guy who turned a new leaf. Are you going to let some gang leading punk make you hide away inside your home?"

"If it means keeping my family safe, then yes."

"So you're just gonna let some senseless kid bully you? Don't you deal with that enough as being a high school coach and teacher?"

"Of course I do. I have to break up fights, deal with cyberbullying and stop big kids picking on the smaller ones."

"Do you ever have kids that have come up to you and talk to you about getting bullied by somebody and they don't know what to do?"

"All the time. And I always tell them they did the right thing by coming to someone they trust. Whenever they ask me, I go and take care of it."

"What happens if that bully comes back? What will the kid do then?"

"Well, I always tell them that if they ever pick on them again, then all they can do is either tell them stop or just walk away and not turn back. Fighting is never the solution unless you have no other choice. And even if you have any other choice, I still don't think fighting is a good option."

"And that's exactly what's going on between you and Pedro. He wants a fight, but you won't give it to him. He'll just keep coming back unless you do something about it. So are you gonna do something or are you just gonna hide away like a scaredy cat?"

Coach Tony has a look of anger on his face, "That's one thing I want nobody to know me as. Nobody thinks of me as a scaredy cat and gets away with it," he shuts the door and locks it tight, "Come on, Diego. I'm not gonna let some football star from the past make me hide for the rest of my life. Time to teach that punk a lesson."

They marched their way through the city on the search for Pedro and The Predators. They continued searching left and right, high and low. It wasn't until they arrived at the park where they caught Pedro and some of his lackeys stealing a rhino man's wallet. They kept their confidence up as they strolled over to the situation.

"Hey, Pedro!" Coach Tony called.

Pedro looks behind him to see Tony and Diego, "Well, well, well. Looks like the coach and the pet saber came back to settle the score."

"I'm not his pet," Diego said, "I'm his friend."

"Whatever. I have a feeling you guys wanna take me and the gang out for a fight."

"No, but I don't think we have much of a choice," Coach Tony said.

Pedro nodded, "You wanted a fight, you'll get one. But you gotta catch us first!" he and the gang started running.

One of the cats dropped the wallet as he ran. Diego returned it to the rhino.

"Thanks," the rhino said.

"Anytime," Diego said.

"Would you mind doing us a favor and call the police?" Coach Tony asked, "Tell them there's gang problems in an alley located in between Pablo's Pizzeria and Derek's Dry Cleaning."

"You got it," the rhino said as he takes out his cell phone and dials for the police.

Coach Tony looks at Diego, "Let's go."

Coach Tony and Diego raced through the city until they ended up back at the same alley they were in yesterday. Right in between the pizzeria and the dry cleaners. They spotted the gang trying to rush back inside their hideout. The two showed no fear as they rushed up to the gang and started up a fight.

There was yelling and screaming and cries of a fight. Diego clawed down some of the smaller members while Coach Tony handled the big ones. The coach kept his eyes out for Pedro as he kept knocking gang members down one by one. He finally caught Pedro trying to climb up the brick wall and succeeding. That wouldn't stop him, though. He couldn't let the leader run off and hide.

"Diego, Pedro's escaping!" Tony yelled.

"Go after him!" Diego told him, "I'll take care of these guys!" he swatted a smaller cat to the ground.

Coach Tony nodded and ran over to the dumpster. Grabbing the gutters of the pizzeria, he climbed up the roof. He saw Pedro had climbed over the brick wall and dropped himself to the other side. Coach Tony jumped off the pizzeria and went in pursuit of the gang leader.

Just a few blocks away at a pet store in town, Peaches and Jessica were inside looking around at all the cute puppies. The store owner, a female wolf, walked up to the elephant and mammoth.

"Good morning, ladies," the store owner said, "Can I help you two find anything today?"

"Certainly," Jessica said, "My friend Peaches is looking for a dog. She's looking for one that's cute, fluffy and won't grow up to be very big."

"Well, you both came on the right day," the store owner said, "I just got some new puppies yesterday that are ready to go home to the proper family," she leans down in a crib like pen and holds up a small shaggy puppy with white fur, "This little guy is a Maltese dog. They don't grow big when they're adult dogs. Plus he's cute and fluffy."

Peaches smiles, "Oh, he's so cute!" she holds the puppy in her trunk and cuddles him to which the puppy does the same, "I'll take him!"

"Wonderful! Let me go ahead and get his food and dog dish ready. Would you like to go ahead and name him?"

"I've been wanting to use this name for a long time. And since he's so cute and white as snow, I'm gonna name him Snowball."

"Wonderful name! I'll have everything ready for you in a few minutes," the store owner goes into the back.

"So now that you have a new puppy, let me tell you everything you need to know about how to be a good pet owner," Jessica said.

While Peaches learned the wonders of pet ownership, back a few blocks away, Coach Tony was still pursuing Pedro through the city streets.

Pedro knew he couldn't keep this up. He had to lose Coach Tony. All the workouts the coach has done over the years has given him a lot of strength and the ability to run faster. But Pedro was getting fed up with it and needed to get farther away from the guy before he took him back behind bars. He had no plans to return to jail.

The gang leader turned sharply into a different alleyway. He ran up to the fence and started climbing it as fast as he could. He would've been up at the top by now and would've been freed if he hadn't of been yanked by the jacket and slammed to the ground.

At first he thought he was seeing things, but it was actually Coach Tony who was pinning him down. He tried getting up, but it was a struggle. Coach Tony chuckled.

"You can struggle all you want," Tony said, "You won't be able to get out of my strong grasp. I'm gonna make sure you're locked behind bars for good."

"No!" Pedro said, "Don't make me go back! I hate jail! It's a terrible place!"

"Well, if you had controlled yourself, you wouldn't have went to jail."

"If you had only been a better coach, I would've won that game. But because of your bad coaching, I caused us to lose. You should've told me to stop acting like a fool on the field, but you didn't. You literally ruined my life."

"How did I ruined your life? You were more focused on impressing a college scout than you were on the game."

"My dream was to go to college and play football. If I had gotten accepted somewhere, I would've studied on how to be a football coach just like you. You were once my hero. A father figure. Someone who was always there. You were the one that taught me how to pick myself up when I was down. That's who you were, Coach."

Coach Tony was hesitant, but he unpinned Pedro and helped him up, "I never knew that, Pedro. I'm sorry. About everything."

"It doesn't matter. Thanks to you, I ended up losing the game for everyone, got kicked out of school for hurting you and joined up with a gang. I ended up having to take my GED and I have to be told where I can go to college and what I can major in because of my expulsion from high school. I can't even live the life I wanted thanks to you."

Coach Tony nodded in understanding, "I can see now that it was my fault and I'm sorry. But if you keep acting the way you are now, you're gonna end up behind bars. All I ask is if you just keep away from now on."

Pedro nodded, "Fine. I won't mess with you no more. But if you or that pet saber of yours ever comes around my turf again, I won't let you go so easily."

"Don't worry. You won't see me ever again. You're free to go."

So Pedro climbed over the fence and escaped. Coach Tony walked out of the alley. He was banged up, but would be fine. He's been through worse. Besides, he kept thinking if he did the right thing by letting Pedro go. He was a criminal who deserves to be locked away, but the kid has been trying to get back up on his feet. Sure everything is being chosen for him, but maybe he might enjoy it in the long run. As long as he started back on the right track in life which Coach Tony doubt Pedro would do.

He finally returned to the gang's hideout where police cars were lined up on the street. He overheard officers asking the Predators questions about where the leader was to which they refused to answer. One thing about gangs: never give out who the leader is or where they're hiding.

The coach spotted Diego parting from Chief Randall after answering a few questions. The saber was glad to see his tiger buddy safe.

"There you are," Diego said, "I was wondering when you would come back. Where's Pedro? Did he get away?"

"Actually, I let him go," Coach Tony said, "Probably a big mistake on my part, but he promised to keep his distance. He won't bother us anymore."

"What made you change your mind?"

"Well, he ended up confessing a few things to me and I figured he could use another chance. But if I ever see him again, I won't hesitate to call the police."

Diego nodded, "Good to hear. So now that we've handled this situation, you wanna head over to the gym?"

"To be honest, I've had enough exercising for one day. Let's go get something to eat at Denny's."

The two walked down the sidewalk away from the police and gang members. After a long day of traumatic and life changing experiences, it was time to eat something good. Sometimes a little food can settle the soul.

**The End.**

**Voice cast:**

**Denis Leary as Diego**

**Mark Harmon as Coach Tony**

**Wilmer Valderrama as Pedro**

**Keke Palmer as Peaches**

**Scarlett Johansson as Jessica**

**Tori Kelly as Melody**

**I hope you enjoyed this. Give credit to ninjagogirl luvs iceage21. She helped me out so give her a shout-out. And this is the last story she'll help me on. Things got a lot busier so she won't be able to help me with any more stories anymore. Don't worry, the Ice Age Modern Life series isn't over, because I found someone else to help me. Give thanks to ninjagogirl luvs iceage21 for helping me on all four of these stories. Reply below.**


End file.
